At a glance
ClinicalIndex Comparison RecordStandardized by ClinicalIndex from the ClinicalTrials.gov record · verify against the source.
Cardiovascular Responses to Cold Exposure in Hypertension
In Brief
An observational study for Hypertension. Completed, enrolled 91 participants across 2 sites.
Detailed Summary
Wintertime is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and a majority is related to cardiovascular causes, such as myocardial infarctions, heart failures, and strokes. It is also known, that both acute and long-term cold exposure increase blood pressure and cardiac workload, and this may contribute to the observed excess morbidity and mortality during the cold season. Although the effects of cold on blood pressure are known among healthy people, these responses among risk groups, such as hypertensive people, are not established. In addition, changes in cardiac electrical activity or autonomic regulation are largely unknown. The cardiovascular responses in the cold could be different among hypertensive people because of disturbances in the circulatory regulation or function, such as aortic stiffening and increased vasomotor tone of peripheral arteries due to endothelial dysfunction associated with the disease. To assess this, a controlled experiment employing a cold exposure similar to everyday winter circumstances in a subarctic climate was performed.